Music director Anup Rubens says that doing '90ML' has given him so much excitement. In this interview, catch him talk about the music for this upcoming Kartikeya movie, which will hit the screens on December 5. He also throws light on various other topics.

Seven songs in total

The director's story narration gave me a kick. There are six full-fledged songs and one short song in the movie. All of them have been included in the final copy.

No forced songs

Adnan Sami's song has come out really well. I have rendered a tragedy song. The songs are commercial and situational in nature. There are no forced songs. Each of them is about 180 seconds long. This is an out-and-out mass movie for me.

Composing for star heroes

When you are composing the music for a star hero, you have a set vision in mind - regarding how the songs must be, the BGM must be. In other cases, the story, the situations, etc matter more.

A hilarious, unpredictable movie

You are going to see a new Karthikeya in the movie. He is a very humorous person off the screen. That sense of humour has been captured effectively for the first time, in '90ML'. The director has come up with a new kind of unpredictable approach. There is a strong reason behind the hero's compulsion for drinking alcohol every day.

I have missed big projects

Some big projects slipped out of my hand. It's not in my hands. When you give good music, the album fetches you some applause. But if the film doesn't do well, your efforts go down the drain.

Constantly learning things

I listen to music from across the globe. It has been a great learning experience every day. I am inspired to give the best when I see others grow up. I take the competition in the industry sportively. Music determines the openings for a movie a lot. This is true about non-star hero movies. The likes of 'Temper', 'Gopala Gopala' and 'Katamarayudu' would have created records had the social media and hype been as high as they are today.

Budget matters

The quality of music depends a lot on production values. Big-budgeted movies have an edge here. A lot many ingredients go into determining the quality. Symphony, mixing, orchestration -- there are a lot of factors. If the story is good, I give my all. Sometimes, I have spent from my own pocket to get the quality right.

Not averse to massy songs

Personally, I love peppy songs. Mass songs are also on my list. The songs in 'Temper', 'Ishq', 'Katamarayudu' and 'Paisaa Vasool' had their share of massy hits. My musical hits have mostly been melodies, though.

Copying vs getting inspired

Every musician has a certain style and instinct. If some notes of a song resemble the notes of some other song, it doesn't mean copying. It's just an inspiration. I am against 'makki ki makki' copy, in which case the value of a musician will come down. Nine out of 10 times, I give a tune first and then the lyricist pens the lines.

Upcoming movies

I will be doing a film for 'Gundejaari Gallanthayyinde' director Vijay Kumar Konda. I am also doing Sandalwood projects.